When the Vegas Golden Knights were announced as an NHL expansion team in 2017, experts expected the usual growing pains: last-place finishes, empty arenas, and maybe a decade before playoff success.
Instead, they went to the Stanley Cup Final in Year One.
Vegas shocked the hockey world by finishing first in the Pacific Division and steamrolling their way through the Western Conference playoffs. Their incredible run was fueled by a group of “misfits”—players left unprotected by their previous teams in the expansion draft. Among them: William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, and goaltender Marc-André Fleury, who posted a .927 save percentage in the postseason.
Coach Gerard Gallant and GM George McPhee crafted a system that emphasized speed, discipline, and relentless forechecking. That chemistry—and an “us against the world” mentality—carried Vegas all the way to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final, where they ultimately fell to the Washington Capitals.
No expansion team had ever done anything like it. And probably never will again.
